45% of Australia’s CO2 Emissions are from Electricity Generation
What is Aetium Solar?
- Aetium Solar is Australia’s first platform that lets everyday solar owners register, certify and monetise CO2 reductions from their rooftop systems.
- If you’ve installed solar - at home, on a farm or at a business - your clean energy deserves more than just lower power bills. It deserves recognition.
- Aetium Solar certifies your rooftop CO2 reductions, turning your clean energy into verified CO2 reductions you can sell or retire.
Why register your solar?
- Be recognised for investing in reducing CO2 emissions.
- Be rewarded for your solar’s CO2 reduction; use the earnings to maintain or upgrade your system.
- There is no financial risk, no commitment, only potential rewards.
What can you earn for certified CO2 reductions
A 30-panel solar system (10kW) in Queensland with battery storage, avoids approximately 13 Tonnes CO2 per annum. If certified by Aetium, this could pay you $530 annually*.
| State | Tonne CO2 | Solar + Battery | Solar only |
| ACT | 10.7 | $420 | $320 |
| NSW | 11.8 | $470 | $360 |
| NT | 13.9 | $550 | $420 |
| QLD | 13.3 | $530 | $400 |
| SA | 12.7 | $500 | $380 |
| TAS | 9.0 | $360 | $270 |
| VIC | 10.4 | $410 | $310 |
| WA | 10.0 | $400 | $300 |
*CO2 pricing for solar + battery = $39.53 per tonne, this is not a guarantee of future value. Pricing is subject to market fluctuations at the time of sale.
Who can benefit?
- The owner of the solar system.
- If the solar is owned by a business, trust, council or government department; a duly authorised representative can register on the entity's behalf.
Eligibility
- Your solar must have at least 6 photovoltaic (PV) panels.
- Your solar cannot be concurrently registered to another CO2 certification program.
- Your solar must be located in Australia or its territories.
- If you have claimed STCs (Small-scale Technology Certificates) you are eligible to certify your solar with Aetium. STC's are not carbon credits as confirmed by the Australian Government, Clean Energy Regulator.
- If you are claiming LGCs (Large-scale Generation Certificates) you are not eligible to certify your solar with Aetium.
» Solar Panel detection using AI
How it works?
- Create an Aetium account (personal or organisation), an Australian mobile number is required.
- Share your solar details: location, size, orientation, age, inverters, battery and ownership.
- Start-the-clock: You receive a public digital certificate of your solar's expected CO2 reduction (your name and address details are kept confidential).
- Certify: After 12 months, we verify the solar electricity produced and confirm your CO2 reduction according to the Aetium AET Standard.
- Decide: You are issued with tradable Tonne Carbon Units (TCU) that you can sell to preferred buyers or retire. Each TCU is secured on a blockchain registry for all to see.
- Restart-the-clock: register for another 12 months.
Why it matters?
Solar reduces demand for fossil fuel energy, but until now, that impact couldn't be formally measured or rewarded.
- Converting your green investments into CO2 certificates
- Unlock value and recognition from your solar
- Helping build trusted, community-led climate action
Join the movement!
Thousands of solar owners are already turning sunshine into certified climate impact.
Don’t just save energy, lead the transition.
Industry Partners
“Aetium's work will be essential in driving broader understanding and acceptance of the CO2 emissions reductions delivered by rooftop solars.”
John Grimes CEO, Smart Energy Council
"Aetium is a great product and service for the renewable energy industry, it will help customers keep their solar systems clean and well maintained through the value of certificates generated by the emissions offset by the solar itself."
Leigh Storr CEO, RESINC Solar
Solar FAQs
We are using factors like panel specifications, location, age and your state's electricity grid mix to determine how much CO2-intensive grid electricity you're avoiding.
CO2 Saving Formula: Annual system performance × Local grid carbon intensity - Embodied emissions
Example: 5,500 kWh pa x 0.6 T ÷ kWh [60% fossil] - 0.3 Tonnes = 3 Tonnes CO2
We certify your solar CO2 savings using a retrospective, evidence-based approach focused on actual household solar generation and grid emissions displaced.
From a data collection perspective, we will request the following:
• Period: Last 12 months generation (eg. 5,500 kWh)
• Source: Either Inverters, Monitoring app or Smart Meter
• Format: Visual evidence (photo, app screenshot, video) or Solar App data feed
Aetium’s solar CO2 savings are based on real data and robust science to ensure accurate, location-specific and verifiable results. The calculation datasets include:
- Sunlight & Climate (CSIRO, Solargis, BOM).
- System Performance (NREL, IEEE, academic studies),
- Grid Standards (AEMO, Ausgrid, Ergon),
- Household Energy use (CSIRO, ABS),
- Carbon Accounting (AEMO, NGER, LCA research).
Input data and calculations are undergoing periodic review to ensure that our carbon certifications are of the highest integrity.
Once certified, you will be allocated TCUs that represent exactly how much CO2 was avoided by your solar. You can sell your TCUs on the Aetium Exchange. The AUD value of the TCUs will be transferred to your bank account net of our service fee.
Yes, as an assessable income for individuals and attract GST for businesses.
No. STCs support grid decarbonisation but aren’t carbon offsets. Energy retailers can’t use them to claim or displace emissions.
The Voluntary carbon market is where businesses and people buy credits to offset their own emissions (good will) and achieve carbon neutrality (eg. tree planting, renewable energy). Credits are verified by organisations like Verra, Gold Standard and Aetium.
In 2024, electricity made up 33% of Australia’s emissions (440 Mt CO2-e). Solar is the fastest, most effective way to cut this.
4 million rooftop solar systems are cutting over 20 Mt of CO2 emissions each year. It’s like offsetting the carbon footprint of 1.2 million Australians. (Every Australian represents 18.6 tonnes of CO2 per year)
Once you've registered and established your solar baseline, you can unlock even greater environmental benefits by optimising your system and habits.
System Performance:
- Clean panels periodically, check for shading from trees and debris
- Add monitoring to spot underperformance early
- Add panels or upgrade to high efficiency (400W+)
- Add battery storage (new Federal rebate) to ease grid pressure at peak times and cut demand when the sun isn’t shining.
Energy Consumption & Storage:
- Upgrade insulation, lighting and appliances to lower your reliance on grid electricity
- Pair with a full electric vehicle (EV)
Aetium is a signatory of the Australian Carbon Industry Code of Conduct, which is committed to developing an operating a carbon industry built on community trust, transparency, accountability, social and environmental integrity, in compliance with the law.
